1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to data and voice communications. More particularly, the present invention relates to mobile communications.
2. Background Art
As commerce becomes ever more dependent on the ability to exchange information rapidly, independent of locational constraints, the economic importance of mobile communications becomes correspondingly great. Along with greater reliance on mobile communication devices, comes increased demand for ready, low cost access to graphically rich media, using those devices.
One conventional approach to providing convenient low cost mobile communication involves use of a messaging format known as short message service (SMS). SMS is a character-based short messaging format commonly used for the exchange of text messages between users of mobile devices, for example, mobile telephones, or between a server and a mobile device. Advantages associated with the SMS format include its uniform implementation across all mobile carriers, and all mobile devices available on the market today. Due to its ubiquity, SMS is tightly integrated to mobile device functionality, making SMS messaging easy for a typical user of such a device to utilize for communication purposes.
The SMS format imposes a strict limit on the size of an SMS message, however, constraining messages composed from, for example, 7-bit characters, to a length of 160 characters. Because of such limitations, SMS messages are typically text strings of truncated or abbreviated words, lacking graphical enhancements. Conventional approaches to communicating more visually rich or complex information via SMS messages have been largely unsuccessful in reconciling the character size of a visually complex message with the character constraint imposed by the SMS format.
Another conventional approach to providing richer message content to a mobile device involves use of another messaging format known as multimedia messaging service (MMS). The MMS format was developed with messaging capacity to provide audio, visual, and graphical elements to users of mobile devices. Although sometimes referred to as the evolution of SMS, MMS tends to coexist with SMS on mobile devices, to the extent that MMS has been deployed, and complements SMS messaging rather than functioning as its substitute.
The advantage offered by MMS in delivering rich-media content to mobile users is its messaging capacity, which permits inclusion of rich text, graphics, video, and audio elements in an MMS message. Its disadvantages, however, are numerous, and have prevented MMS from serving as a satisfactory substitute for SMS, despite its capacity for delivering richer content. Disadvantages associated with MMS include lack of uniform implementation across mobile carriers and mobile devices, and higher intrinsic cost for exchange of an MMS message. In addition, and perhaps due to its lack of uniform implementation, MMS does not tend to be tightly integrated to mobile device functionality, and thus requires greater user involvement and expertise for its successful utilization. The difficulty in its use, together with a rigid content format, and greater expense, has prevented MMS from satisfying user demands for a convenient and cost effective means for obtaining rich-media content.
Accordingly, there is a need to overcome the drawbacks and deficiencies in the art by providing a widely implemented, efficient, and low cost means for communicating rich-media messages that are readily accessible to users of common mobile devices.